


That Blessed Arrangement

by Indehed



Series: Snuggle 'verse [7]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - High School, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-21
Updated: 2013-06-21
Packaged: 2017-12-15 15:37:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/851198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Indehed/pseuds/Indehed
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's all about the last peppermint patty. And Steve. Him too. That's all Danny wants.</p>
            </blockquote>





	That Blessed Arrangement

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Polski available: [Ten Błogosławiony Węzeł](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7318393) by [MobyDick](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MobyDick/pseuds/MobyDick)



> So, this is the end of the 'verse... pretty sure anyway.  
> Thanks to Paulette for the turnaround.

"I think you were about five when he asked you," Doris said to Danny while he set the table for dinner. Steve was helping her with the cooking.

"I honestly don't even remember," Danny said. Really, he had no recollection. They were five; he didn't remember everything from back then, just snippets. Somehow this one had fallen through the cracks. 

"I do," Steve said, turning his head to smile at Danny mischievously. "You said yes, but only if you could have the last peppermint patty I had. I believe I said I'd give you anything you wanted."

"You remember that?" Doris asked, laughing. 

Steve shrugged, "Not much else though."

"It was the Royal Wedding. It was on the television, on the news, I think."

"What Royal Wedding?" Danny asked. "Wait… Charles and Diana?"

"That's the one," Doris answered, bringing the last of the food to the table and gesturing for Danny to sit while Steve finished pouring their drinks. "You were both so cute; you acted out the whole thing and pretended that Mary was the Priest. She was only two, she barely had any clue what was going on but Steve kept trying to make her ask 'Do you?' so that you could both answer."

Danny laughed trying to remember, but the problem was he had so many memories of Steve being weird and him going along with things or putting up token arguments, that they'd pretty much all merged. He remembered the oddest things, but this one seemed to have slipped his mind. 

"So that was our first wedding," Danny mused. "That'll be the source of all the 'old married couple' jokes then."

"Except it didn't happen. I mean, as far as I know, Mary isn't registered to officiate weddings, and certainly wasn't back then, so it doesn't count." Steve said it all with a straight face and Doris and Danny glanced at each other, then back to Steve, before bursting out laughing again.

Steve smirked, unable to hold the serious face for any longer. 

*

They were in the back garden with Danny's mom. She was sitting at the garden table; drink in hand, sunglasses firmly in place. She'd been enjoying the peace and quiet, until Steve and Danny barged in after closing a case (Danny had been complaining because it was Saturday and he hated working on Saturdays), grabbed beers from the fridge and had come out to join her.

"I don't know why you complain about it. It's been happening since Five-0 started, you've used it against me yourself," Steve's voice carried through the house.

"Yes, but it's like the criminals of the island put out a flier with standard witty remarks to make when being arrested by us. They could at least put a bit more thought into it," Danny argued back.

"What's going on now?" Danny's mom asked, pulling her glasses down and looking at the two of them.

"Another one asked how long we'd been married," Danny supplied, before taking a long drink.

"Do you want me to go answer him for you?" She asked, keeping a smile at bay when Danny just turned and gave her a withering look. 

"Sorry, what?"

She looked between the two boys then crossed her legs, sitting forward and resting her elbows on the table. "It's been about twenty years now, I should think… give or take a month."

"What's she talking about?" Danny pointed at his mother but his eyes were questioning Steve.

The other man shrugged in response, but it seemed shifty to Danny, like he did know exactly what his mother was yammering about. 

"You were around the age Grace is now, come to think of it. The school play. You don't remember?"

Danny looked blankly between the two of them. Steve was keeping quiet but he clearly knew something. 

"Umm…" Danny thought back, running a hand through his hair. "What, the one about the doctor that met his wife while working with homeless kids? What was that called again?"

"I don't remember," Steve said, putting his drink down. "It was named for the lead kid I think. Total rip-off of Oliver, just without the music."

"Steve played the doctor," Danny's mom smiled fondly. "You played one of the orphans. A mouthy one if I recall. But when Steve was learning his lines he needed help so you read along to the part of the wife. I must have watched you two get fake married every day for about two weeks. Even I knew the dialogue for both parts by the end of it."

A smile slowly crept onto Danny's face as memories flooded back to him of them practicing in the living room or his bedroom, or out on Steve's lanai. When there wasn't anyone around, Steve would kiss Danny on the cheek every time they got to the 'you may now kiss the bride' part.

"I remember doing that. I remember Steve doing it for real on stage and after kissing poor Katie Lewis, he rubbed the back of his hand over his mouth as if he'd been poisoned for kissing a girl."

"Never did that when we practiced though, did I?" Steve said, smugly. Which was just another reminder to Danny that although they'd never actually done anything remotely 'romantic' until they were in their thirties, they'd been courting since they were kids. Somehow, Steve had realized the deeper part of their relationship a lot earlier than Danny had. The hints probably hadn't been all that subtle, but if you weren't looking for them, you just didn't notice. 

"Guess we've forgotten a lot of anniversaries," Danny joked. 

"But it doesn't count," Steve shook his head. "We can say 'I do' as much as we want, but to this day we've not had anyone qualified actually declare us official. It's no different than when we were five."

"Five?" Danny's mom asked.

"Doris told us a story about how we got fake married when we were five. She's threatened us with hidden photos. I'm not so sure they exist. If they do, I claim Photoshop," Danny answered as his mom giggled behind her hand. 

"If Doris has photos, they aren't Photoshopped. I'd believe her," she laughed. 

*

They were sitting outside Steve's house. They'd taken to just being out here, on their chairs, watching the waves and the sunsets. It was the best way they'd found to just relax and _be_ after a case was wrapped up.

The thing was, a case hadn't wrapped up, it was just the end of another weekend and Steve himself realized that right now he had a face. Danny kept shooting him little glances every so often, but seemed unwilling to break the silence. 

Throughout the day, Steve had become a bit more antsy, nervous even. 

He'd known Danny all of his life, but he was still nervous because he knew what he was about to do. What he was psyching himself up to do. He'd been thinking about it fo some time. To be honest, his mom was quite right, and he'd been thinking about it since he was five, but kids were just kids. They had been playing. No matter how many memories he had of playing those games with Danny, no matter how many jokes people flung at them these days, actually doing something about it was nerve-racking. 

On the other hand, he was confident. In himself, in Danny, and in what they meant to each other. 

When they were little he'd always been drawn to the blond. He'd vied for his attention, he'd never been able to resist a chance to make him smile, and he'd always found excuses to reach out to him. In return, Danny had always been by his side when he'd needed him, and even when he hadn't. Danny was a mother hen when Steve was sick, if he got too big for his breeches then Danny was there to bring him back to Earth and he could read him like a book. For Danny, that book would always be open, even if some files from the last ten years were redacted, Danny could see the indentations under the black marks.

"You going to tell me what's going on over there?" Danny asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Let's get married," Steve blurted.

"Again?" Danny smiled, not realizing how serious Steve was.

Steve climbed out of his seat and scooted over to Danny's. He knelt on the ground in front of him and grabbed his hand. "I'm being serious Danny, let's get married."

"This is you proposing?" Danny asked, slack-jawed. He closed his mouth audibly, recovering himself then said, "I don't think it's even legal, babe."

Steve looked down, shaking his head. When he looked back up he met Danny's eyes and put as much care into his words as he could. "Will you marry me? Or…civil u-… you know, whatever anyone wants to call it, I don't care, it's just words, we'll know what it is." 

"Is this because of the jokes again? Or our moms' reminiscing lately? Because I know for a fact my mom called yours for photos and they've been acting like they're planning our real one."

"No, Danny, no. Like people are pressuring me? No," he frowned at the other man, taking a breath before he could articulate himself properly. "All anyone else does is see what we mean to each other, piece of paper declaring it or not. It's not even about that. I just want us to have that day, you know? Be able to stand up in front of our friends and family and tell them that this is who we are; this is what we mean to each other. There's nothing wrong with celebrating that. And besides, putting a ring on your finger might help make sure no one else thinks they stand a chance with you."

He smiled at the end, hoping Danny understood.

Danny's free hand reached to cup Steve's cheek and he leaned forward, so close that their foreheads were almost touching. "You are amazing," he sighed. "Crazy, but amazing."

"What does that mean?" Steve asked, his hopes high but not willing to show his happiness until Danny actually said yes. 

"It means that since someone is going to have to keep an eye on you for the rest of your life, it may as well _officially_ be me. Since I planned on doing it anyway."

That was good enough. 

In an instant, Steve had surged to his feet, pulling Danny with him and into a fierce hug. He didn't want to let go, he didn't want to loosen his hold. He'd spent his childhood earning Danny's trust, loyalty, respect, joy and love. He'd lost him after his mother faked her death and he'd spent those years regretting it, funneling his attention into his job instead. But when fate brought them back together he jumped in with eyes wide open and full of hope and now things felt like they had fallen into place like they were always supposed to. He moved a hand to the back of Danny's head, maneuvering around so he could press his lips to Danny's in the most promising way he could. 

"By the way, there is one condition," Danny said, looking up at Steve soberly.

"What would that be?" Steve hedged.

"I want the last peppermint patty."

Steve took a moment, then burst into laughter, rocking forward into Danny and then taking him down to the ground where they tangled in a heap of legs and arms. As they lay there, he pulled Danny in and placed a kiss on his forehead. 

"I'll give you anything you want."

"Just you will be fine," Danny said.

"And a peppermint patty."

"And that, yes."


End file.
